It’s called Yeats and terroir the newborn project launched by Cantine Tinazzi in cooperation with Startogen, well-known research center, and StarFinn, an academic spin-off of the Università degli Studi della Basilicata. This research, which holds great meaning in this particular scientific field as well as in the field of environmental preservation, contemplates the isolation of yeast strain from Corvina and Primitivo grapes and their use later on during the vinification of these grapes.
For some time scientific research pointed out the potentialities of “autochtonous” yeasts, that is, coming from the same vineyards where the wine is produced, compared to “commercial” yeasts existing on the market. As of today, just a small range of yeast strains is available for the producers. That carries the risk of product standardization. The goal of the research is, instead, to discover from isolated strands something innovative and at “0” Km able to enhance the typical characteristic of wines from Veneto and Puglia.
The project includes different steps. In the first, we will select samples of the grapes where the research of the “autochtonous” yeasts will be done. Grapes will be picked up from vineyards owned by Tinazzi, during harvest 2018, first at the end of August from Primitivo grapes in Salento, and then, starting from September, from Corvina grapes in Valpolicella. Vineyards must be located in several places and far from wineries, streets, buildings. The grapes, healthy and not infected by molds will be brought to the laboratory in order to let them ferment at room temperature.
Then a step of examination where yeasts – both Saccharomyces and not Saccharomyces – will be put and grown in specific laboratory plate. During this step, a genetic analysis will be done in order to discriminate the isolated yeasts from the “commercial” ones. It will be followed by the use of the strain in the fermentation, initially on neutral must, then on small quantities of must of Corvina and Primitivo, with the purpose of evaluating the oenological properties, that can positively influence the wine and determine the final outcome.
Once identified, the yeast strains with the best performances will be deposited under the name of Tinazzi in a biological bank, to be reproduced commercially.
The last step will be the concretization of the results in the winery. During harvest 2019, yeasts coming from grapes Primitivo will be used primarily for the fermentation of the same grape. Same procedure for Corvina grapes.
Thanks to this important project, Cantine Tinazzi committed to the cause of the innovative research and of the preservation of his own microbiological heritage, with the aim to enhance the typicality, the quality and the sensory complexity of the final product.